Cannabis Advertising – A Growing Industry

MCEVERS: These could be ads for products to help your flowers or something else, medical marijuana, now legal in several states. But it’s an illegal substance, according to the federal government, which poses an interesting question: How do you advertise a product like that? Harry Cole specializes in broadcast law. He joined me to talk about what you can and can’t advertise when it comes to legal weed.

HARRY COLE: There are no rules against advertising it at this point. There are some restrictions on how to advertise. You’re not supposed to market to kids, for example. Other than that, as of right now, the FCC has taken no position at all on the propriety or the legality of advertising marijuana. Many broadcasters are concerned, I believe, that the FCC could conclude that the promotion of the killer weed would be just a bad thing. And then taking that out to the logical extension, we will take away your license if you do that.

MCEVERS: I want to play you a clip of an ad that aired here in California up in Humboldt County, actually. The clip isn’t advertising marijuana, but it seems pretty clear that when they’re talking about gardening supplies, what they’re supposed to be used for, let’s play it.